Legendary Calgary Flames play-by-play radio announcer Peter Maher sits during a press conference announcing his retirement at the Pengrowth Saddledome in Calgary, Alta. on Tuesday, April 29, 2014. Maher retired after more than three decades of being the voice of the Flames. Lyle Aspinall/Calgary Sun/QMI Agency

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If anybody deserved a farewell game at the Saddledome, a night that was all about him, it's Peter Maher, the longtime radio voice of the Calgary Flames.

There was only one problem.

The beloved broadcaster wasn't on board.

“That would put the focus on me. The game isn't about me,” Maher said during Tuesday's retirement ceremony at the Saddledome. “I'm the messenger. I'm telling all the audience, the listeners, about our team.”

For most fans and followers of the Flames, the 64-year-old from Campbellton, N.B., has been the only radio voice their team has ever known.

From Tommy Albelin and Akim Aliu to Zarley Zalapski and Andrei Zyuzin to the bigger names — Theo Fleury, Jarome Iginla, Miikka Kiprusoff, Lanny McDonald, Joe Nieuwendyk, Mike Vernon, etc., etc. — in between, Maher has been in the broadcast booth for all of their special moments.

He was at Montreal Forum in Montreal when McDonald & Co. sipped from the Stanley Cup on May, 25, 1989.

He was at the since-renamed St. Pete Times Forum in Tampa when Iginla & Co. lost a heatbreaker in Game 7 of the championship series on June 7, 2004.

Along the way, he had a bird's eye view of more than 3,100 games.

In fact, he never missed one. Not one.

“Since arriving in Calgary in September of 1980, I have thousands, maybe millions, of people to thank for this wonderful ride that I've had, living the dream,” Maher said.

No, thank you Peter.

Among those in attendance for Tuesday's announcement were McDonald and Vernon, current Flames skaters Michael Cammalleri and Matt Stajan and just-hired GM Brad Treliving.

Although Maher didn't want a send-off while still sitting in the broadcast booth, Flames president Ken King revealed the team is planning a tribute to the iconic play-by-play man next season.

Maher is already a member of the Hockey Hall of Fame, having joined his idol — longtime Hockey Night in Canada voice Danny Gallivan — and other distinguished media members as a winner of the Foster Hewitt Memorial Award in 2006.

“I think it's perfectly fitting that there are a whole bunch of young broadcasters that are going to say, 'My idol was Peter.' So move over, Danny, and make room for Peter Maher as one of the great legends in broadcasting,” King said.

“I think our building maintenance crew said it best (Tuesday) morning,” King added. “We were sitting on the dock having coffee and they said, 'We're going to lose our voice.' That's just the pureness of Peter and the full extent of his impact.”

“What do you say about that voice? That classic voice. That powerful, distinct, but yet friendly voice that was the soundtrack of so many things,” added Kelly Kirch, the program director at Sportsnet 960 The Fan. “If you think about those frosty drives home, when you're on the Deerfoot and it's cold and you don't know if you're ever going to get home, and there's Peter in the car with you. Or if you're coming back from holiday. Even if you're away, streaming online and listening to Peter Maher — a little piece of the Calgary Flames, right there with you on your vacation.

“Peter was always there.”

He won't be there next season, and the man famous for his calls of 'Yeah baby!' and 'You can put it in the win column!' will be tough to replace.

“Whoever is selected to take that broadcast seat, I offer nothing but the very best,” Maher said Tuesday, before sharing his advice to his eventual successor.

“This is the NHL, the National Hockey League — treat every game and every broadcast with respect and reverence. Remember it's an honour to be a broadcaster in the greatest league in the world.”

If anybody deserved a farewell game at the Saddledome, a night that was all about him, it's Peter Maher, the longtime radio voice of the Calgary Flames.

There was only one problem.

The beloved broadcaster wasn't on board.

“That would put the focus on me. The game isn't about me,” Maher said during Tuesday's retirement ceremony at the Saddledome. “I'm the messenger. I'm telling all the audience, the listeners, about our team.”

For most fans and followers of the Flames, the 64-year-old from Campbellton, N.B., has been the only radio voice their team has ever known.

From Tommy Albelin and Akim Aliu to Zarley Zalapski and Andrei Zyuzin to the bigger names — Theo Fleury, Jarome Iginla, Miikka Kiprusoff, Lanny McDonald, Joe Nieuwendyk, Mike Vernon, etc., etc. — in between, Maher has been in the broadcast booth for all of their special moments.

He was at Montreal Forum in Montreal when McDonald & Co. sipped from the Stanley Cup on May, 25, 1989.